There is no path for the Muslims to regain the great glory of their Salaf al-Ṣāliḥ or to deserve help and victory over their enemies, except by returning to their Religion; being upright upon it, having allegiance to those who align themselves with it, having enmity with those who show enmity to it, judging by Allāh’s Sharīʿah in all affairs, uniting their word upon the truth and co-operating with each other in piety and righteousness.

The Muslims took this call (daʿwah) and this jihād (struggle) beyond the al-ʿArabīan peninsula; and through them Allāh guided those, from His worshippers that were foremost in (attaining) joy and bliss. It was through them that Allāh spread truth and justice throughout the greater part of the earth and they became – due to this – leaders of guidance, examples of truthfulness and callers to justice and reformation. Those who followed them in goodness also traversed this same path. They were also leaders of guidance and callers to the truth, who helped spread the Religion of Allāh, calling people to single-out Allāh alone with worship, and not fearing, for the sake of Allāh, the blame of the blamers. So Allāh aided them, made them victorious over their enemies and fulfilled for them what He had promised in His saying: 

“O you who Believe! If you help the cause of Allāh, then Allāh will help you and make your foothold firm.”
[Sūrah Muḥammad, 47:7]

Allāh the Mighty and Majestic also said:

“Indeed, Allāh will help those who help His cause. Indeed Allāh is All-Mighty, All-Powerful. Those who, if We give them power and authority in the land, establish the Prayer, pay charity, order the good and forbid the evil. And with Allāh rests the end of all affairs.”
[Sūrah al-Ḥajj, 22:40-41]

However, after this, people changed. They split up, became negligent about the matter of jihād, preferred luxury and easy living, began following their whims and desires and evil spread amongst them, except those whom Allāh, the Most Perfect, protected. Due to this, Allāh changed their condition and covered them with degradation and humiliation as a result of what they did; and indeed, Allāh is not unjust in the least to any of His slaves. Allāh the Exalted said:

“Indeed, never will Allāh change the condition of a people, until they change themselves.”
[Sūrah al-Raʿd, 13:11]

So it is obligatory upon the Muslims – both the rulers and the ruled – to return to Allāh the Most perfect; make their worship exclusively for Him; repent to Him with regards to their previous acts of neglect and sins; hasten to fulfill what Allāh has made obligatory upon them; keep away from what He has forbidden them, and to mutually help and co-operate with one another to achieve this. From the most important of all this is to establish the Sacred Law (Sharīʿah) and to judge with it between the people in all of their affairs, to refer judgment back to the Sharīʿah, to abolish all man-made laws that oppose what Allāh has prescribed as law; not resorting to such laws for judgment, but rather making judging by the Sharīʿah an obligation upon everyone. Also, it is obligatory upon the scholars to teach people to understand their Religion, to cultivate an Islamic awareness amongst them, to help them upon the truth, help them to be patient and steadfast, order the good, forbid the evil; encourage the rulers with all of this. It is also obligatory upon them to combat destructive ideologies, such as communism, socialism, nationalism and other false and destructive ideologies that oppose the Sharīʿah. So only by fulfilling this will Allāh correct for the Muslims what has been corrupted, grant them what has eluded them, reinstate to them their glory; give them help and victory against their enemies, and establish them in authority upon the earth. Allāh, the Most Truthful in speech, said:

 “And it was incumbent upon Us to help the Believers.”
[Sūrah al-Rūm, 30:47]

Allāh the Most High said:

“Allāh has promised those who truly believe amongst you and act in obedience to Allāh and His Messenger, that He will grant them rulership upon the earth; just as He granted it to those before them. He will establish their Religion for them and grant them the authority to practice the Religion that He chose and ordered them with. And He will certainly change their situation to one of security, after their fear; providing that they worship and obey Me, not associating anything else in worship with Me. Then, whoever rejects this favour (by disobedience to their Lord) then they are the rebellious transgressors.”
[Sūrah al-Nūr, 24:55]

Allāh the Most Perfect also said:

“Indeed, We shall surely make Our Messengers, and those who believe, victorious in this worldly life and on the Day of Resurrection, when the witnesses will stand forth. The Day when the excuses of the unbelievers will be of no benefit to them. Theirs will be the curse, and theirs will be a painful punishment in the Hellfire.”
[Sūrah al-Ghāfir, 40:51-52]

We ask Allāh, the One free from all defects, that He grants guidance to the Muslim leaders and their general masses, that He grants them all the understanding of the Religion, that He unites their word upon piety, guides all of them to His Straight Path, and that He supports the truth with them and vanquishes falsehood through them. We ask that He unites them all upon co-operating in righteousness and piety, helping one another upon the truth and upon patient perseverance. Indeed, He is the Guardian for this, the One having power over this. [2]

May Allāh extol and send blessings of peace upon His Slave and Messenger and the best of His creation, our Prophet and leader (sayyid) Muḥammad Ibn ʿAbdullāh; and upon his Family, his Companions and all those who follow his guidance until the Day of Judgment.

Endnotes:

[1] Majmūʿ al-Fatāwá wa Maqālāt al-Mutanawwiʿah (1/75-76)
[2] The Shaykh also said (7/375): “There is no path for the Muslims to regain the great glory of their Salaf al-Ṣāliḥ or to deserve help and victory over their enemies, except by returning to their Religion; being upright upon it, having allegiance to those who align themselves with it, having enmity with those who show enmity to it, judging by Allāh’s Sharīʿah in all affairs, uniting their word upon the truth and co-operating with each other in piety and righteousness – just as Imām Mālik Ibn Anas (rahmatullāh ʿalayhi) said: “The latter part of this Ummah will not be rectified, except by that which rectified its former part.” This is the view of all the people of knowledge, that Allāh the Most Perfect rectified the first part of this Ummah due to their following His Sharīʿah and clinging to His rope upon truthfulness and mutual co-operation. There can be no rectification for the latter part of this Ummah except by this great means.”